The orange line represents part of the proposed redesign of Exit 41 to alleviate commuter congestion and reduce vehicle emissions that might include a slip ramp to access eastbound Interstate 90. With the Pride convenience store and gas station project nearing its start, its site plan needed to be amended to allow for a roundabout where Friendly’s Way intersects with Westfield Industrial Park Road.
Reminder Publishing screenshot from Westfield GIS
WESTFIELD — With a significant restructuring of the Exit 41 interchange occurring in the next five years, the Planning Board recently approved minor changes to the special permit for the company planning to build a Pride convenience store and gas station on the site of the old Friendly’s.
“We really are looking forward to redeveloping this area and getting rid of the Friendly’s,” said Robert Levesque of Levesque Associates, Inc., referring to Kayrouz Petroleum LLC, the company developing the project.
When the special permit for the development was approved in 2015 by the Planning Board, the redesign of Exit 41 had yet to be proposed.
The restructuring of Exit 41 has three major components: roundabouts at the intersection of Southampton Road and Friendly’s Way, a roundabout at the entrance to Holyoke Road and a roundabout where Friendly’s Way intersects with Westfield Industrial Park Road.
“If those plans come to fruition, they would need space. So, we’ve adjusted our plan accordingly,” Levesque said.
Kayrouz Petroleum is planning to build a 5,700-square-foot Pride gas station, convenience store and visitor center at the location of the former Friendly’s restaurant on 33-39 Southampton Road, with a large diesel fueling area for trucks in the rear.
Levesque said that now that the company had obtained a license to store gasoline and diesel fuel in underground tanks, the special permit needed some minor revisions.
“Some curb cuts have changed, and a lot of that has been in concert with our discussions with MassDOT District 2, as well as with the city,” Levesque said.
He said one of MassDOT’s “big concerns” was traffic movement at Friendly’s Way and Westfield Industrial Park Road.
Because the traffic doesn’t move naturally through the intersection, Levesque said the site plan includes accommodations for the roundabout.
“We have truncated our site to accommodate if there is a roundabout [built] at this particular location,” he said.
Another change is the entrance to the convenience store.
In the original plans, there was no entrance or exit off Southampton Road (Route 202); one has since been added.
That was a source of confusion for some of the board members.
According to the site plan, the property will have an entrance and an exit on Westfield Industrial Park Road. There will be an entrance and an exit on Owen District Road, which is the road on the north side of the property that has the entrance to the Hampton Inn.
It will also have an entrance and exit on Friendly’s Way, but only for motorists using it to access Interstate 90. Those who turn right off Southampton Road onto Friendly’s Way will not be able to cross the oncoming traffic lane to gain access.
Levesque was hoping to have the changes to the special permit approved at the meeting because “time was ticking,” as an agreement was being negotiated between Robert Bolduc, who has a 100-year lease on the property, and Kayrouz Petroleum.
“Not to rush anybody, but [learning] that there is not a meeting for another month is concerning because that, I believe, will push into the due diligence period where they cannot get out of this project, and that would be a concern for them,” Levesque said, referring to Kayrouz Petroleum.
Board members also said they wanted the landscaping “beefed up,” especially because the intersection is a gateway to the city.
Levesque said the company would be happy to work out a plan once the negotiations between Bolduc and Kayrouz Petroleum were completed.
He told the board he had “a fear” as a city resident.
“I fear that if this [project] goes away because of the MassDOT vision for this area, it will be very hard or impossible for someone to develop this site in the next decade because of these roundabout plans,” Levesque said.
